Meter.



PATENTBD JUNE 2,

` I.' A. TILDBN.

METER.

APPLICATION I'ILIzD IBB. ze, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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f UNrrsn rares Patented June 2, 1903. l

ATENT Erice.

JAMES TILDEN, OF HYDEPARK, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN OR TO I-IERSEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MAlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent N o. 729,701, dated June 2, 1903.

Application led February 2G, 1903. Serial No. 145,121. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom t may concern: Be it known thatI, JAMES A. TILDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hydepark, in the county of Norfolk and State of 5 Massachusetts, have invented a new and use# fnl Improvement in Meters, of which the following is a specification. i r My invention relates to meters, and more particularly to those adapted -for the meas-V io urement of fiuids. j

It consists in the' features yhereinafter described and more particularly claimed.

The accompanying drawing shows a meter i in side elevation, parts being broken away,

illustrating one embodiment of my invention.

To secure the best results from the registering mechanism of water and like fluid-meters, it is essential that they should be inclosed in a casing which is substantially `airzo tight, thus avoiding the oxidation of the lubricant and also excluding dirt and fluids, which clog and interfere with the proper operation. To effect this, the ordinary praetice heretofore has been to continue the spindle which is geared to the measuring device through the usual stuling-box iu the metercasing, then across a chamber having communication with the outer air, and through a stuffing-box in the bottom of the -register- 3o casing, where it has secured to it a pinion meshing with a gear upon the driven spindle` t of the register. This arrangement is objectionable, not only because of the difficulty of properly packing two openings through separate members about an integral spindle, but

also because of the inconvenience of disassembling and reassemblin g the parts, particularly when the meter is in use.` It is necessary after removing the register-casing to 4o take off the pinion from the spindle and then draw the register-plate up over said spindle. As the person doing thisV is often unskilled, the spindle is liable to injury by bending, the restoring of the plate is troublesome, and-the packing in the stufling box may become scored or displaced by the end of the spindle, so that a leak will result. To obviate these difliculties, the arrangement disclosed in my Patent N o. 675,145, dated May 28, 1901, was

5o devised in which a section is removed from ing an adjustable gland 25.

the spindle between the meter-casing and register-casin g and a flexible connector comprising a pair of arms connected by a pin introduced. This does away with the necessity for care in alining the stuiiing-boxes and permits ready longitudinal separation. This construction, however, is open to objections in that-it introduces a number of additional elements augmenting the cost of construction, and it also increases the1 total height of the 6o meter by the space necessary to introduce the connector between the glands of the two stuifinglboxes. To avoid these and other difficulties which may arise, I provide such a combination of parts as is illustrated in the drawing, in which The numeral l() designates a meter-casing containing any suitable form ofuneasuring mechanism which imparts rotation to aspindle 11, extending through a stufiiug-box or 7o other desired packing device 12, having the adjustable gland 13. Carried ,by the" metercasin g about the spindleis a support 14, here shown as of cup shape and formed integrally with the casing. Upon its outer orsupporting edge the cup is preferably formed with an inner circumferential groove 15, in which is seated the bottom plate 16 of the register R, having its upper face [iush with the upper edge of the support. The register mechanism 8o is covered by the casing"`17, the lower annular edge of which extends over both the support and register-plate and is suitably secured to the former with a packing-ring 1S, interposed to form a tight joint. The register-casing is 8 5 so sealed as to be substantially air-tight, the posts 19, which rise from the bottom plate to support the topv plate, being driven into their holes in the former, and the spindles 2O of the register-gearing 21 may be stepped in 9o plugs 22, similarly driven into give the proper thickness of material atthe' bearing-points without unduly increasing the weight of the plate. Through the bottom plate, out of alinement with the spindle l1, extends. the driving-spindle 23 of the register mechanism, which is encircled by a stuiing-box 24, hav- The spindles 11 and 23 project by one another and carry coacting connectors lying in a plane extending roo laterally of the spindles and substantially at right angles thereto. These connectors are here shown as intermeshing gears 26 and 27, secured to the meter and register-spindles, respectively, by set-screws 2S. The gears are inclosed by the supporting-cup, so that they are largely protected from dirt, though the interior of the cup is rendered open to external conditions by holes 29 through the Walls thereof, preferably near the top of the meter-casing, through which any water leaking from said meter-casing about the spindle 1l may readily escape.

It will be evident that in addition to the ordinary advantages possessed by the divided and doubly-packed spindle my presentinvention secures these with practically no increase in height or bulk of the meter, there being practically only the width of space necessary between the two casings for the stufng-boxes, that the registeris removable for inspection and repair without danger of injury to the spindle or packing, that the plurality of projections or teeth of the gears permits assembling without difculty in bringing the parts into proper engagement, and that even such members as the comparatively course intermediate gears, which are not liable to injuriously clog or wear, are well protected. Moreover, the sealing of the register-casing at its juncture with the support from the meter-casing is accomplished in a Very simple and effective manner which secures the maximum economy of space.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. T hecombinationwithameter-casingand a register-casing each provided with a stuffing-box, of spindles projecting through the stuffing-boxes and extending by one another, and connectors secured to the spindles and coacting in a plane extending laterally of said spindles.

2. The combination withameter-casingand a registering-casing each provided with a stuffing-box, of aspindle projecting from each casing through a stuffing-box, and intermeshing gears carried by the spindles in close proximity to the stuffing-boxes.

3. The combination with ameter-casingand a sealed register-casing, between which is a space open to external conditions, of a spindle projecting from each casing into the intei-mediate space and located out of alinement with its companion spindle, a packing device about each spindle furnishing a substantially water-tight joint between the casings and the intermediate space, and coacting connectors carried by the spindles within the intermediate space and situated in close proximity to the packing devices.

4. The combination with a meter-casing, of a registerfcasing containing gearing, a register-plate provided with openings, plugs closing the openings to render them substantially Water-tight and to furnish bearings for the register-gearing, and means for assembling the register-casing and register-plate to' seal the casing against external conditions.

5. The combination with a meter-casing, of

a support carried thereby and provided at its supporting edge with a groove, a registerplate seated in the groove and provided with openings, gearing carried by the registerplate, .plugs closing the openings vto render them substantially Water-tight and to furnish bearings for the register-gearing, and a register-casing extending over the adjacent edges of the support and register-plate. 6. The combination with a meter-casing, of a cup-shaped support formed thereon, a register-casing supported upon the edge of the cup, a stufng-box projecting from each casing into the cup, a spindle extending through each stufiing-box,and intermeshing gears carried by the spindles within the cup.

Signed at Boston, in the county 0f Suffolk and State of Massachusets, this 24th day of February, 1903.

JAMES A. TILDEN.

Witnesses:

HENRY D. MINTON, FRANCIS C. HERsEY, Jr. 

